We spoke in his home in Hot Springs, Montana and he shares with us one of his current endeavours, a quest to inform Northwest farmers on the wide diversity of crops we can grow here. More information here:Continue Reading …

founder of the Inland Northwest Food Network, discusses the exciting possibilities of developing this network for our region.

“The Inland NW Food Network is committed to growing a resilient, environmentally responsible, and cohesive regional food system in the Inland NW – from Spokane to the Canadian border and parts of Western Montana. Our tagline is Connecting People, Place, Food, and Farms.”

Recently, she visited Sandpoint to share her vision of the Network and explore the possibilities of creating a regional Food Hub that would connect farmers, distributors, retailers, and consumers. Food hubs are well developed in some regions but we haven’t created one locally. In this interview, she shares her ideas and encourages us all to make the connections we need to expand the possibilities for our region.

Based in Coeur d’Alene, the group hosts monthly meetings, offers educational programs, and mini-conferences that are open to the community at large. The monthly programs have the catchy title of Chew on This . The upcoming conferences include Financing Our Local Economy with Slow Money and Local Investing 101. For a complete listing of programs, conferences and resources, please visit www.infarm.org

Slow Money

Carol Peppe Hewitt

This week a delightful phone interview and an invitation to share the wisdom and passion of Carol Peppe Hewitt, a woman dedicated to creating bioregional financing opportunities for small farmers and craftsmen through Slow Money.

Fast money would be your money, that you have no control over. This is sitting in an account, or funds sitting in traditional banks. This money is being move around in ways that would make your head spin, but probably won’t help you or your neighbor or your community much because it is spread all over the world. Slow money is money you have in your possession and you get to choose where it is invested.

Carol has taken this idea and grown it locally in North Carolina where she has raised over two million dollars in slow money that has been re-invested in her community. Carol will be in Coeur d’Alene on Thursday to share her ideas and on Friday at the Rural Roots conference in Moscow.

Carol was asked to compile some their success stories and present some tools for us to use to get some of these solutions functioning in our bioregion. Her book is called “Financing our Foodshed / Growing Local Food with Slow Money.

Here is one small success story attributed to Slow Money in North Carolina. It involves a meat packer who needed $500 for a new label machine, a market that owed him money, and a loyal customer who wanted to help. No Banking officers anywhere nearby.

Chatham Marketplace

(Helped with the loan in the story above, and received a $500 Slow Money loan to refinance it’s debt with low-interest local funds.)

“Farming has many joys, but steady cash flow is not one of them. Withington and his wife, needed to upgrade their meat packing labels to meet regulatory standards. This would cost $500. Meanwhile, Withington tells me, the Chatham Marketplace owed him money for some of his meat.

“An elegant solution was arranged: A regular shopper at Chatham Marketplace loaned Withington the $500. The grocery in turn issued five $100 gift cards to the lender, thus redirecting the debt the store owed the Withingtons who then issued a gift certificate to the lender to cover the interest payment, plus he made a small donation to The Abundance Foundation, the fiscal sponsor of Slow Money NC.”

“So, basically, we took out the loan, paid off the loan, collected debt and the Marketplace got rid of debt, all in a five-minute transaction,” Withington says. ( Quoted from Indy Week • 201 W. Main St., Suite 101, Durham, NC 27701)

Chatham Marketplace

(Helped with the loan in the story above, and received a $400k Slow Money loan to refinance it’s debt with low-interest local funds.)

What is a Foodshed?

A “foodshed” derived from “watershed” is basically a local region, or a bioregion.

Carol was asked to compile some their success stories and present some tools for us to use to get some of these solutions functioning in our bioregion. Her book is called “Financing our Foodshed / Growing Local Food with Slow Money. There are a few links below. Carol recommends contacting here for your copy if you are interested. Also in the link department contact information, a link to the NC Slow Food Blog, and a link to more information about Woody Tasch’s book

Local Futures ~ Now

Localism and the upcoming Economics of Happiness Conference

We are honored to have Author and filmmaker Helena Norberg-Hodge As our guest on Thinking Outside of the Box this week. Helena is a pioneer of the new economy movement. She is a widely respected analyst of the impact of the global economy and international development on local communities and local economies. She spoke to us from Byron Bay, Australia. One half hour is hardly time to do justice to a woman of such varied skills, so this time we just focused on a short bio, and then a peek at the itinerary for the upcoming Economics of Happiness conference in Portland Oregon.

It is hard to believe the list of accomplishments this lady has left in her wake. She brings a breath of fresh air to us folks in a world which has seemingly run amok with global marketing, the philosophy of the dominant class and consumer consciousness.

She paints a clear picture of how living a simple life and supporting our local communities make sense on all Levels. Economically, ecologically and socially it is a win-win situation not just for individuals but also for society as a whole.

Ladakh India

Helena shares with us her experiences in Ladakh which were crucial in enabling her to understand the impact of conventional development and globalisation on people and the environment.

Ladakh is also known as Little Tibet, it is a remote region on the Tibetan plateau. Although it is politically part of India, it has more in common culturally with Tibet. Helena first went to Ladakh in 1975 as part of a film crew. Over the years she experienced first hand how globalisation (including government sponsored subsidization) led to a steady decline in the quality of life for these people.

Her project in Ladakh has now grown into the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC). This is also known as Local Futures, which works internationally, in both the North and South to encourage more decentralized land-based ways of living.

A shortened but very impressive biography: Helena Norberg Hodge is the founder and director of the Local Futures/ International Society for Ecology and Culture; founding member of the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture and co founder of both the International Forum on Globalization and the Global Ecovillage Network. She is also the author of Ancient Futures and the producer and co-director of the award winning film: The Economics of Happiness. In 2012, she was the recipient of the Goi Peace Prize.

In this brief interview, she paints a clear picture of how living a simple life and supporting our local communities makes sense on all Levels – economically, ecologically, and socially. It is her belief that we can create a win-win situation for ourselves and for society as a whole.

Please take time to help promote this event! Follow the link below and add the power of your voice to the Thunderclap campaign

We invite you to join us in Portland on February 27, 2015 when Helena and the leaders of the new economy will share their vision and possibilities that define the Economics of Happiness. Here are the links to the trailer of last year’s conference and information on registration for the upcoming event.

As a certified arborist, Rich Del Carlo spends much of his life up in the trees and from this rather unusual perspective, he shares with us his birds eye view of changes he is seeing in our local balance with nature.

Rich is also one of the area’s most ardent bird watchers and recently coordinated the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas bird count for the region. This event has been going on nationally for over one hundred years and clearly tracks the changes in bird populations and migrations.

Many things affect the balance of man and nature but the most important thing we can do as individuals is to become aware of our personal relationship to our surroundings. Our choices can begin in our own homes with the flowers we plant, how we use water or the chemicals we buy. Everyone can make a difference in creating balance.

Hospice is a promise of hope and comfort for those in our community with an ongoing illness or injury that have reached the point of no longer seeking aggressive or curative treatment. We are a team of skilled professionals and volunteers working in partnership with a patient’s doctor, providing physical, emotional and spiritual services and support for the whole family. (From the website quoted below)

Lissa “Elissabeth” DeFreitas has been ‘on board’ with our only not-for-profit Bonner Community Hospice, serving Bonner and Boundary Counties, since October 2013. While serving as a Volunteer Coordinator and educational liaison, Lissa has the opportunity to share the gifts and benefits of hospice for our local community. She has been hospice connected as a volunteer, beginning in 1985 in Ogden Utah, Spokane Washington and Sandpoint, Idaho.

Lissa has passionately partnered with our local service community, through her work with Bonner County Homeless Task Force (T.I.P.S.) and her work with Sandpoint Community Resource Center (SCRC), offering a monthly column in the Bonner Bee, “Neighbor Connection”.

As an intuitive harpist, she offers comforting music and healing presence at bedside for the ill and dying. She has launched her newest CD, “Passage” – that is a compilation of soothing voices of the Celtic harp, Native American Flute, keyboard and crystal bowls. Since 2000, she has authored 7 meditative and inspirational Cd’s.

You can learn more by visiting the Bonner Community Hospice web page here: B C Hospice

Jeremy Grimes the City Planner for the City of Sandpoint and regional planner, discusses how three local communities and Bonner County are working together on these issues with the Land Trust to develop a Green Print for development. This collaborative effort is helping to develop a regional master plan for growth that includes all aspects of growth within the local environment. He offers some great insights, resources and examples for other communities looking at the issues related private/public land use issues, zoning, transportation, improvement, and expansion of essential services; innovation in building, management of natural resources and recreational development.

In his 8 years in the community, Jeremy has seen many changes. In his own life as he and his wife raise two earth conscious children and have started a business, Sandpoint Fiber Company. He and his family raise and care for cashmere goats, alpacas and Shetland sheep and create natural fibers and fabrics.

Students in rural communities who want access to college and training programs often face many educational and financial barriers. In Sandpoint, many of these barriers have been overcome as local community leaders have been working together to form exciting new educational alliances and opportunities for both local and state-wide students. Jim Zuberbuller – Co-Founder–Communiversity, Sandpoiont and Alan Millar – Director of PTECH h for Idaho and Principle of the Forest Bird Charter School, Sandpoint discuss two exciting innovative solutions.

Sandpoint Communiversity is a five year old project that has opened many new options and programs for local students with the state wide colleges and universities. The idea, which was brought to town by Connie Kimbel is now a reality. “I can’t sing Jim’s praises enough,” said Kimble. “He jumped into the Communiversity project with his whole heart and mind, with passion, humor and an expertise that kept us focused and invigorated. He’s been a first rate moderator, cheerleader, and idea man.Last summer Sandpoint hosted the first international meeting of Communiversity – including delegates from Nelson, BC and France as well as the 6 communiversities in the US.

Using the structure of the Communiversity and connections with the aerospace business across the state, the innovative thinkers created a new – state-wide program for high school students called Pathways to Technology {PTECH} This program, funded by grants is in its first year with a class of 59 high school students who are enrolled in the four year program. Upon graduation from the program students will have completed high school and two years of community college and be eligible for employment in the areospace industry.

The Communiversity now has a staff of five; they have received signifcant grant funding. This year received 400.000 to start the PTECH program. This collaborative group is currently working with 59 high school students in a pilot project called Pathways to Technology. This is a state wide model program that is looking at receiving 2.2 million dollars next year. For application information please contact Alan below.

Last summer Sandpoint hosted the first international meeting of Communiversity – including delegates from Nelson, BC and France as well as the 6 communiversities in the US.

For more information about Communiversity, email BCCommuniversity@gmail.com